First part: Charts have deceiving looks.

Second part: But the way we look at them is no better

First part: Beware of optical illusions!

1 If several indicators are very close to one another, the chart is likely to display the symbols next to each other, and not in front of the little lines that indicate their exact position. You may see them far away from where they really are.

Also, you may not notice which ones are very close to each other, and which ones are more distant. Orbs matter though.

So put on your glasses, look at the little lines!

2 On Astrodienst, the default settings are 10 degrees orb for conjunctions, oppositions, trines and squares. You will see the same coloured lines for these aspects, independently of how tight they are.

For instance, imagine a Moon - Mars - Saturn T-square, with Saturn at the apex. The Moon is always a big player.

Let’s say the Moon - Saturn square is exact, and therefore really strong, but the Moon-Mars opposition , and the Mars - Saturn square exist with a 9 degrees orb.

Interpreting the Moon- Mars opposition without describing the Moon Saturn square first would be the equivalent of talking about a piglet in the room, whilst ignoring there is an elephant. Your interpretations won’t impress the querent. The other way round, starting with the elephant will be spot on, and then going as far as pointing out the piglet running between the elephant’s paws will come across as the cherry on top of the cake.

4 Some aspects may be minor but they do exist!

In the astrodienst format, minor aspects are represented by dotted lines. Semi squares or sesqui-squares are almost invisible. However, they may be exact to the degree or almost, and therefore more powerful than a loose major aspect. Again, put your glasses on!

Check the grid under the chart, and be prepared to calculate mentally. If Pluto is at 9 degree Scorpio and Venus at 24 degree Sagittarius, how tight is this semi square?

5 On astrodienst, if you’re using the default settings, Chiron is shown, but without aspects. I like it this way. It’s better not to have too many lines criss-crossing a chart. Sometimes people show charts with aspects to the angles, to the nodes and to a number of asteroids as well, and the result looks like a nervous breakdown.

However, Chiron in a strong aspect to a personal planet is a meaningful and powerful indicator. Don’t forget to notice.

6 Another way to make too much of a big deal of a piglet whilst ignoring the elephant herd is to forget that the most powerful indicators are those that move the quickest. Look at what’s going on around the angles first, then the luminaries, then the personal planets.

If you get excited about a Jupiter Neptune trine because it is exact, and neither Jupiter or Neptune is conjunct to an angle or a luminary, or ruler of the Ascendant, and there aren’t important placements in Sagittarius or Pisces… then, this aspect may be a big piglet, but it’s not an elephant, not even a small one.

Maybe you’re reading a chart with piglets only? You better check before elaborating on this Jupiter Neptune trine.

NB: Conjunctions are the most powerful connections. After them consider tight aspects, especially the major ones. If you have a stellium, you won’t see colourful lines across the chart, but don’t downplay it. Imagine a huge blue and red spot around it.

Second part. About wrong and right ways to approach a chart.

Have you already played chess?

If yes, you have probably lost at least once because you were so excited about your attack that you forgot to pay attention to your opponent’s point of view. You were moving forward like a bulldozer. You couldn’t think of anything else. You had built a fortress to protect your king, but a side door was left open. Before you knew it, you were checkmated.

To get it wrong with an astrological chart is very similar. Imagine. You have identified a planet as a main player. So you dig and dig, you focus on what this planet in this sign and in this house may mean, but the deeper you dig the narrower your horizon becomes and you end up unable to get out of the hole you dug for yourself!

I am not saying not to dig at all. Not digging is the opposite way to get it wrong! Some unstable minds jump like fleas from one placement to the next. Oh this Venus in Leo! And it’s in the ninth house! But Mars is in Scorpio, that’s tough! In the First House, woah! Moon in Aries that’s impulsive, but opposite Saturn, sometimes it’s not! …So much about the art of getting nowhere.

So yes, when you spot a dominant energy, dig, but not too much. A chart is made of placements and bridges between them. Bridges are aspects, or rulership relations.

For instance, if you get so fascinated by this Uranus conjunct the MC in Aries that you immediately set up to re-read the entire book by Liz Greene’s about Uranus, you’ll end up confused. In the book you get a rich tapestry of life. So much width and depth are wonderful, we need culture and intelligence, but hours later you’ll still be wondering: what does this Uranus conjunct MC in Aries mean exactly?...

There is no exact answer to a precise question about a particular chart in a rich tapestry…

You need to sum up all you know to “get the vibe” as clearly as possible, and move on.

With Uranus, there is something different. Thinking outside the box, or behaving like an outsider, an outcast or a rebel. Could be an interest in science, politics, technology or an ideology. A rejection of nature and the body maybe.

Sometimes, with Uranus you’re just different. You may not even know why and how. You’re a weirdo. There are many kinds of weirdos…

At some level, there is a normal way, and there is breaking away from it. Difficult to be more precise.

With Aries, it’s easy to feel that it's likely to be a tad more extreme as it would be anyway, with a leading, pioneering or competitive strike. Both Uranus and Aries want independence and have things going their own way. It feels rather uncompromising, radical.

Keep the question marks hanging and look around. What else?

From this Uranus in Aries, you can spot that it is ruled by Mars, in Aries as well, conjunct the Moon, and the Moon happens to be the Ascendant ruler, making it even more important. That’s a huge focus in the tenth house, and in Aries…

There could be a lot to say about this, but again, don’t keep stuck here.

Look around. Don’t miss that Uranus is also connected with Mercury by a square. Moreover, Mercury is also conjunct with the Ascendant, so this aspect is important like a first class elephant. Even more so if you notice that the Sun is in Gemini. Mercury rules it, is dominant and squares another dominant planet! It’s huge!

Mercury and Uranus have common grounds: the mind, the nervous system, communications of insights, weird communications… Remember that Aries rules the head. This could be a big brain. This could be a mad one. And Mercury is intense, it’s conjunct Pluto.

Again, don’t dig a hole so deep that the horizon disappears. Look around! Yes, Mercury is conjunct Pluto, and Pluto conjunct the Ascendant, itself ruled by the Moon, and squaring it… Great emotional intensity here, connecting the Ascendant (the guy himself) and the tenth house (his social status). With Mum playing a part in the drama, probably. Moon also rules memory and imagination, not just Mum and emotions…

Feel the vibe, keep the question marks hanging, keep wandering through the chart, follow its roads, cross the bridges, keep moving… Looking at the whole architecture. Think like a spider, because it’s a web.

There is much more in this example chart of course, but you see the way to proceed.

My last recommendation is to simply be polite with your subconscious mind and with the astrological angels that only want to help.

Ask, let the questions hang for a while and trust. Open a book at a random page, look through the window, forget about it and come back later.

The chart I used as an example is John Nash’s, genius, mathematician, Nobel Prize. He also struggled with schizophrenia and believed he was communicating with extraterrestrials.

Jean-Marc Pierson

Astrologer, storyteller, writer

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